Patriots dial up dominant 4th quarter, flatten East Chapel Hill

Published: Saturday, September 14, 2013 at 01:21 AM.

“He came back in in the second half and did some very good things for us,” Carrouth said of Osinskie.

While the dominant fourth quarter served to match Southern Alamance’s win total from last season, Carrouth was mostly concerned by what he saw before then.

“That’s ugly football on our side. Give East Chapel Hill credit, they played their tails off and they’re a good football team,” Carrouth said. “We did not have a good mindset coming into this ballgame. As soon as we stepped on the field (Friday) night, I knew it was not where it needed to be and we paid for it.

“Our guys kind of thought (Friday) night that we’re on top of the world and I hope (Friday) night proves that we’re not.”

For all of Southern Alamance’s shortcomings in the first three quarters, it still led 22-21 at halftime. Dairyon Matkins and Alford Ellison scored rushing touchdowns and Atwater hauled in a 31-yard touchdown catch for the Patriots’ first-half scoring.

Atwater had five catches for 100 yards, while Ellison led Southern Alamance with 72 rushing yards.

Hankins caught a 5-yard pass for his only reception of the second half. Southern Alamance held the Wildcats to 63 rushing yards.

CHAPEL HILL — After a roller-coaster first three quarters, Southern Alamance’s Tylin McAdams turned on the jets to score a go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

It was a 24-yard catch-and-run that sparked the entire Patriots team to turn on the jets.

Southern Alamance scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from host East Chapel Hill for a 45-28 victory Friday night in non-conference football action.

“I just saw a wide-open lane, I took it,” McAdams said. “My linemen had me over here, had good blocks, went up and scored.”

About a minute later, Tyler Atwater intercepted a pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown, giving Southern Alamance (3-1) an eight-point advantage. That came on an intended slant to Jack Hankins, who had torched Southern Alamance for 154 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

“I had help over the top, I was thinking the slant because they had been killing us all night on the slants,” Atwater said. “I was trying to cheat the slant a little bit. It came right there.”

A 7-yard touchdown scamper by Johnathan Lloyd and a late safety topped what was an impressive fourth quarter.

“It was time to turn it up, because we came out flat,” said Lloyd, who had 241 passing yards and three total touchdowns. “So, it took us a long time to get going, but once we got going, we did what we were supposed to do.”

The Patriots defense did exactly what it was supposed to do after enduring a few rough spots, holding East Chapel Hill (1-3) without a first down in the fourth quarter.

When Axel Easter sliced into the backfield and recorded a safety with 1:15 left, it was a culmination of a defensive front that was consistently in the backfield in the final quarter.

“They did some things in the first half, and part of that’s on me. We’re an aggressive defense, we’re an attacking defense,” Southern Alamance coach Andrew Carrouth said. “For some reason … our blitz pressure was not getting there. We’re throwing our corners and safties out there on islands and, man, they’re running by us.

“We made an adjustment in the second half to try to counteract some of the things they had success in in the first half.”

Part of the sluggish start could be attributed to a pregame injury to Jourdan Osinskie, the Patriots’ 6-foot-3, 230-pound jack-of-all-trades athlete who lines up at quarterback, running back, H-back, receiver and defensive end. He landed on a football during warmups and sprained his left ankle, a “freak injury,” Carrouth said.

Osinskie took the field in the second half with a heavily taped ankle and recorded a catch on the first series after halftime. He finished with 34 receiving yards and 20 rushing yards to go with some key quarterback rushes.

“He came back in in the second half and did some very good things for us,” Carrouth said of Osinskie.

While the dominant fourth quarter served to match Southern Alamance’s win total from last season, Carrouth was mostly concerned by what he saw before then.

“That’s ugly football on our side. Give East Chapel Hill credit, they played their tails off and they’re a good football team,” Carrouth said. “We did not have a good mindset coming into this ballgame. As soon as we stepped on the field (Friday) night, I knew it was not where it needed to be and we paid for it.

“Our guys kind of thought (Friday) night that we’re on top of the world and I hope (Friday) night proves that we’re not.”

For all of Southern Alamance’s shortcomings in the first three quarters, it still led 22-21 at halftime. Dairyon Matkins and Alford Ellison scored rushing touchdowns and Atwater hauled in a 31-yard touchdown catch for the Patriots’ first-half scoring.

Atwater had five catches for 100 yards, while Ellison led Southern Alamance with 72 rushing yards.

Hankins caught a 5-yard pass for his only reception of the second half. Southern Alamance held the Wildcats to 63 rushing yards.